In The End
by XVIII
Summary: Set in ANH, Obi-Wan's thoughts as he duels Vader. Set to Linkin Park's "In The End".


Title: In The End

Author: XVIII

Rating: PG13

Setting: ANH

Summary: Obi-Wan's last thoughts

Archive: Ask me first!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters belong to Mr. Lucas. The song belongs to Linkin Park.

It starts with one thing 

_I don't know why_

_It doesn't even matter how hard you try_

_Keep that in mind_

_I designed this rhyme to explain in due time_

_All I know_

_Thrust. Parry. Thrust. Parry. _

He had been trained from birth for this. The system, the code was ingrained in his head. He would never forget. The years of training, the years of pain, the years of hardship, all to obtain the title that later turned out all for naught.

His master. Dead.

His love. Dead.

His friends. Dead.

His apprentice… his apprentice was facing him, countering every move with moves of his own. His apprentice was using the moves that _he_ taught him. But no. This was not his apprentice anymore. This was the monster that had slowly consumed his apprentice. The monster that had put the galaxy into disarray. The monster he had created.

Time is a valuable thing 

_Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings_

_Watch it count down to the end of the days_

_The clock ticks life away_

_It's so unreal_

_Thrust. Parry. Thrust. Parry._

The scary thing was, he could still remember. He could remember the day his master was stuck down by a red and black fiend. He could remember when he had used the black power his enemy was using to strike his enemy down. He could remember when he took the boy in as his own.

He could remember when the boy grew too arrogant. He could remember when the promise of wealth, riches, and fame became too irresistible for him. He could remember when he had to flee from all he knew.

He could remember his final duel with the boy. He could remember the strokes, the slashes, the words exchanged. He could remember the boy falling into the lava. He could remember the boy becoming a machine. He could remember when the boy lost all that was left of his humanity.

He could remember hiding from the man he once called friend. He could remember comforting his apprentice's wife. He could remember her giving birth to two children. He could remember having to take one of them from his mother and run again, this time to a remote planet so that they wouldn't be found.

He could remember his reaction to her death. He could remember watching the boy, the son of his enemy, grow up. He could remember seeing the boy's sister for the first time in a transmission. He could remember going to save her. He could remember arriving on this godforsaken machine. He could remember seeing the monster, fighting one last time with him.

He could remember.

Didn't look out below Watch the time go right out the window 

_Trying to hold on_

_But didn't even know_

_Wasted it all just to watch you go_

_Thrust. Parry. Thrust._

He knew he was at fault. His ignorance, his carelessness with training the boy had led to everyone's downfall. He dismissed the darkness growing in the boy as a temporary phase. He was so stupid.

All the years of prosperity. All the years of peace. Gone. The Jedi were gone. Wiped out by his mistakes. He felt their cries as one by one they were killed. Slowly, the Jedi Order crumbled. Slowly, the galaxy spiraled toward doom. He could do nothing but watch and run, trying to avoid death himself, becoming a lonely hermit on a lonely planet.

I kept everything inside 

_And even though I tried_

_It all fell apart_

_What it meant to me will eventually_

_Be a memory of a time when_

_Parry. Thrust. Parry. Parry._

He had vowed to stay out of war. He had vowed never to take another life after he took his own brother's. But he had vowed to protect the boy. He had to break one of his vows.

When he saw his goddaughter, though, he knew which vow to keep. Seeing her again reminded him of her mother. He saw the same spark in her eyes, the energy that radiated from her body, the dark hair, and the defiance that was shown in her posture. She even used the same words her mother once used. 

He had to break his vow. He had to fight again. He had to protect what was left of his family.

_I tried so hard and got so far_

_But in the end it doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall to lose it all_

_But in the end_

_It doesn't even matter_

_Parry. Parry. Parry. Thrust._

He was on his final mission. He had one more promise to fulfill and he would be free from his captivity, free to do as he wished. He would be free to love, free to run and play and dance and be happy. He would be free. But he had to fulfill his promise. He had to keep the boy safe.

He had given his word to the boy's mother, his lost love. He had promised to keep the boy safe. He knew that the fate of the galaxy would rest on the boy and his sister. He saw them running through the hangar bay, gunfire all around them. He saw that they would make it to the ship. He saw that he had succeeded. He saw-

White, glorious white surrounding him, surrounding his loved ones. His beloved friend and queen. His beloved master. Even some of his close friends stood surrounding him, welcoming him into the paradise they lived in.

Then he saw two people he had never seen before. A male and a female. Both aged and graying. Who were these people? They reminded him so much of someone he knew. The sparkling ice blue eyes, the firm body, the gentle smile, they reminded him so much of… then it hit him.

The man smiled.

"Hello, my son."

Obi-Wan Kenobi knew he was home at last.


End file.
